Berlin's drug dealers appear to have upgraded their customer acquisition strategy in 2026. Rather than relying on lampposts stickers and the business cards that have been turning up in bars and clubs across the city for years, reports say they have now taken the logical next step: putting free samples directly through letterboxes.
Helpfully, the police have even posted an image of what these packages look like (see below) - and they appear to contain a small vial of cocaine, a bud of weed, another small baggie of ketamine, a lump of hashish, and a yellow pill.
Unfortunately, the colorful packets are especially appealing to children.
HEIST is a worker-owned online magazine, founded by writers and editors who after years working across Berlin's media landscape believed something essential was missing.
Anyone living here has felt a growing gap between the city as it actually is and the version being served up by mainstream outlets. We experienced that disconnect firsthand. We saw political censorship shape coverage decisions and felt the weight of billionaire ownership land directly on our work. It reached a point where we could either keep going along with it, or try to build something better.
That's why we created HEIST.
And look at you: scrolling, clicking, squinting at blurred text just to get a little further. If you'll go to that much effort to read HEIST, you can surely give us one email. That's the whole price, and the rest of the story is right behind it.
Real journalism costs money. We commission the hard-hitting, well-reported, long-form work everyone wants to read but nobody seems to publish anymore.
The future of this city is still in the balance. We intend to be part of that struggle. We hope that you'll join us.
